How a Chance Encounter Launched a Revival of Irish American Music

In 1973, I came to the United States to study folklore at the University of Pennsylvania, where Professor Kenneth Goldstein—my main inspiration and mentor—was head of the department. I took a trip to Nashville in 1974 to attend the American Folklore Society (AFS) annual meeting. There was not much time for music, but I did have some old-time sessions with fiddlers Alan Jabbour and Richard Blaustein.